Business Builders
Founders and operators who built through rejection and ruin.
Colonel Harland Sanders
The Man Who Refused to Retire From His Own Potential
Colonel Harland Sanders
The Man Who Refused to Retire From His Own Potential
Walt Disney
The Dream That Survived Bankruptcy and the Loss of Its First Star
Walt Disney
The Dream That Survived Bankruptcy and the Loss of Its First Star
Steve Jobs
Fired From the Company He Created—and Forced to Become More Than Its Founder
Steve Jobs
Fired From the Company He Created—and Forced to Become More Than Its Founder
Fresh StartsJames Dyson
The 5,127th Prototype
Sara Blakely
The Idea No Manufacturer Wanted to Make
Sara Blakely
The Idea No Manufacturer Wanted to Make
Fresh StartsSoichiro Honda
When the Factory Was Gone, the Need Was Still There
Featured Reelspiration
“When people cannot see your vision, create a version they can experience.”
Howard Schultz →
Jan Koum
From Food Stamps to a Product Built Around Simplicity
Told NoJack Ma
Rejected by Employers, Then Misunderstood by Investors
Fresh StartsReed Hastings and Marc Randolph
The Business That Kept Replacing Itself Before the Market Could
Marie Curie
She Entered Rooms That Were Not Built for Her—and Changed Science Forever
Marie Curie
She Entered Rooms That Were Not Built for Her—and Changed Science Forever
Uncommon CourageKatherine Johnson
The Numbers Had to Be Right—Even When the System Was Wrong
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Louis Braille
He Lost His Sight—Then Gave Millions a New Way to Read
Featured Reelspiration
“When prejudice blocks talent, persistence can reveal the loss—but justice requires opening the door for everyone who comes next.”
Percy Julian →
Grace Hopper
She Was Told Computers Could Only Follow Instructions—So She Changed the Instructions
Uncommon CourageHedy Lamarr
The World Saw a Movie Star. History Eventually Saw the Inventor Too.
Told NoGeorge Washington Carver
Denied Admission Because of His Race, He Kept Pursuing the Education He Was Owed
Uncommon CourageTemple Grandin
The Mind Others Misunderstood Became the Perspective an Industry Needed
Uncommon CourageGarrett Morgan
He Invented Lifesaving Tools—Then Had to Invent Ways Around Racism to Sell Them
Strong RecoveriesStephen Hawking
A Short Prognosis Did Not Become a Small Life
Featured Reelspiration
“Do not waste a failed attempt by refusing to study what it taught you.”
Henry Ford →
Sam Walton
The Store He Lost—and the System He Kept
Fresh StartsJeff Bezos
The Bet Behind the Everything Store
Elon Musk
Risking the Next Chapter on Two Companies
Elon Musk
Risking the Next Chapter on Two Companies
Oprah Winfrey
Turning a Painful Beginning Into a Platform
Oprah Winfrey
Turning a Painful Beginning Into a Platform
Fresh StartsMadam C. J. Walker
Building Opportunity From a Problem She Lived
Fresh StartsRichard Branson
Turning Dyslexia Into a Different Operating System
Featured Reelspiration
“The first version of distribution only needs to get you close enough to learn from customers.”
Phil Knight →
Ralph Lauren
Selling a Vision Bigger Than a Tie
Fresh StartsEstée Lauder
Giving the Product a Chance to Be Experienced